Portishead Line reopening for passengers - ongoing discussion

[whole diary]

[chuffed]

The author cheerfully admits '£40m is a back of the envelope calculation!'. He suggests infilling the rails and running buses through Portishead as now, along a bus only lane of the Portbury hundred, and then joining the STRAILed rail at Portbury dock as far as Cumberland basin and then join the Metro bus route M2 to the 'real' Temple Meads, Cabot Circus, BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains), University , Jacob Wells Road, and back to the centre. One snag that I can foresee is how to get off the strailed rail and on to the non guided busway bit of the M2 as it cant go over Ashton Avenue Swing bridge.

[stuving]

The author cheerfully admits '£40m is a back of the envelope calculation!'. He suggests infilling the rails and running buses through Portishead as now, along a bus only lane of the Portbury hundred, and then joining the STRAILed rail at Portbury dock as far as Cumberland basin and then join the Metro bus route M2 to the 'real' Temple Meads, Cabot Circus, BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains), University , Jacob Wells Road, and back to the centre. One snag that I can foresee is how to get off the strailed rail and on to the non guided busway bit of the M2 as it cant go over Ashton Avenue Swing bridge.

Aha! I was going to ask if the idea was to run buses over the rail route - and why. The roads may be congested, but £40M ought to buy a few bits of bus lane and bus-only access road, without the hazard of meeting a goods train.

STRAIL are a German company, though that name (they prefer capitals) appears in their product names. If you go your local level crossing, the chances are you'll see some of their road panels between and beside the rails. I think their big advantage is that you can just lift them to get access to the track and then as quickly put them back, without any pneumatic drill or tar boiler.

[Lee]

The author cheerfully admits '£40m is a back of the envelope calculation!'. He suggests infilling the rails and running buses through Portishead as now, along a bus only lane of the Portbury hundred, and then joining the STRAILed rail at Portbury dock as far as Cumberland basin and then join the Metro bus route M2 to the 'real' Temple Meads, Cabot Circus, BRI^» (Bristol Temple Meads - next trains), University , Jacob Wells Road, and back to the centre. One snag that I can foresee is how to get off the strailed rail and on to the non guided busway bit of the M2 as it cant go over Ashton Avenue Swing bridge.

Aha! I was going to ask if the idea was to run buses over the rail route - and why. The roads may be congested, but £40M ought to buy a few bits of bus lane and bus-only access road, without the hazard of meeting a goods train.

Portbury Docks to Cumberland Basin is quite a long stretch of freight track for MetroBus to share...

Interesting how, in less than a month, the debate over Portishead options has seemingly downgraded from Heavy Rail, through Light Rail to Trojan Bus though, isn't it?

[Red Squirrel]

An article has popped up in the latest edition of the Portishead and Portbury paper suggesting that the way forwards could be STRAIL. It is a system of new and recycled thick rubber panels laid within and beside existing rail tracks and has been used in 30,000 locations in 5 continents to allow road traffic to drive over railways. It does not stop the tracks being used by trains.
I wonder if the Dft and NR^» (Network Rail - home page) have considered this...the author claims it will reduce the cost to about 40 million, down  from the 175 million that has been bandied about elsewhere.

Can you give more details of this 'Portishead and Portbury paper'? The neaest thing I could find online was this article form a couple of weeks ago, which suggests that the local councillors think tram or tramtrain solutions aren't good enough for their town, so I can't see them promoting a bus on a rubber mat.

STRAIL appears to be a quick and easy way to do level crossings, not a means of building busways... is there more to this idea?

Without further information, this sounds like the kind of idea that just about makes the readers letters page in the Bristol Post on a quiet news day... or the kind of thing Marvin Rees would come up with...

[Bmblbzzz]

And how would this STRAIL idea help run trains?

[Lee]

And how would this STRAIL idea help run trains?

In this particular case, it appears that the idea would be to lay STRAIL on the freight-only Heavy Rail section between Portbury Docks and Cumberland Basin, thus theoretically allowing a MetroBus extension to Portishead co-exist with the freight trains. The author appears to envisage his huge "back of the envelope" reduction down to £40 millon would be achieved by running MetroBus rather than Heavy Rail services to Portishead.

[johnneyw]

Perhaps if the author was familiar with Metrobust's overspending history those estimates would see a steep rise.

[Bmblbzzz]

And how would this STRAIL idea help run trains?

In this particular case, it appears that the idea would be to lay STRAIL on the freight-only Heavy Rail section between Portbury Docks and Cumberland Basin, thus theoretically allowing a MetroBus extension to Portishead co-exist with the freight trains. The author appears to envisage his huge "back of the envelope" reduction down to £40 millon would be achieved by running MetroBus rather than Heavy Rail services to Portishead.

I see. It sounds hazardous at best.

[ellendune]

The Portishead Branch was only ever single track IIRC^▸ (if I recall/remember/read correctly). Two track is only just wide enough for a busway, so there would need to be passing places for busses to pass. Would you then need a complex set of traffic lights - you could call it a signalling system. The widening necessary for the passing places (you could call them loops), together with the signalling would push the costs would go up dramatically to something like the same as Portishead reopening project. 

This STAIL idea seems to be not very well thought out!

[mjones]

This idea has been kicking round for several years now. There was demonstration event a few years ago, when it was being promoted as 'rubber road' if I remember correctly. I'll look it up later. I'd have more confidence if there was a working scheme on an abandoned track before anyone suggests a shared scheme...

[Lee]

mjones - Are you thinking of the mid-2000s HoldFast proposal for allowing cars and trains to share the Newton Abbot-Paignton line?

That method was also marketed as being able to facilitate guided bus.

EDIT - I had to use the Wayback Machine to find it, but here is the original HoldFast website.

[paul7575]

Holdfast kit appears on this road on rail temporary job in Scotland, about 150m long.
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds/new-system-signals-changes-for-stromeferry-motorists/
It was also done a few years ago:
http://www.levelcrossinginstallations.co.uk/stromeferry-scotland/

Paul

[ellendune]

Holdfast kit appears on this road on rail temporary job in Scotland, about 150m long.
https://www.networkrail.co.uk/feeds/new-system-signals-changes-for-stromeferry-motorists/
It was also done a few years ago:
http://www.levelcrossinginstallations.co.uk/stromeferry-scotland/

Paul

150 metres on a temporary basis - rather different to the whole line from Cumberland Basin to Portbury on a permanent basis! Even with 150 metres the motorists complained about having to wait for trains!

[Red Squirrel]

Quite. I'm not sure why we're dignifying this idea by discussing it!

[Lee]

Look at it this way - Instead of being criticised for dismissing it out of hand without proper consideration, we can rest safe in the knowledge that we dismissed it out of hand after thoroughly researching and debating it!